Bengals Statistics

Browns Statistics

The punter had one of his worst games there on Oct. 3, allowing Travis Benjamin to have a
club-record day — 179 yards and a touchdown on punt returns — during the Browns’ 37-24 win over the
Bills. The short flight back to Buffalo was a rough one, with Powell replaying all those imperfect
punts in his head.

A few hours later, he was released. But to drive to his home in Rome, Ga., he had to head back
on I-90 through the setting for those unsettling moments.

“When I drove down from Buffalo to go home, you go through Cleveland. It was just like:
Dadgummit,” he said. “But I watched that game. I looked at what I did wrong. I’ve been working on
what I was doing wrong.”

He has a chance to get it right. The Bengals (9-5) signed the second-year punter to replace
Kevin Huber, who is out for the rest of the season because of a broken jaw.

Powell becomes an integral part of Cincinnati’s playoff push: He will hold on field-goal and
extra-point attempts in addition to punting.

The Bengals, who lead the AFC North by a game at 9-5, play Minnesota (4-9-1) on Sunday at Paul
Brown Stadium.

The Bengals chose Powell over four other punters who tried out on Tuesday, in part because he
has a lot of experience as a holder. Powell, long snapper Clark Harris and kicker Mike Nugent got
their first chance to work together in practice yesterday.

“It’s definitely a getting-used-to period,” Nugent said. “But just seeing Shawn hold, not only
can you tell he’s very good at it, but he’s done it before. He’s been in game situations; he knows
the game speed.

Huber got hurt Sunday in a 30-20 loss at Pittsburgh during Antonio Brown’s 67-yard return for a
touchdown. The punter didn’t see Terence Garvin coming to block him, and the Steelers player’s
helmet hit him in the jaw. Huber’s jaw was broken at the chin, and a vertebra was cracked.

The NFL acknowledged on Tuesday that Garvin’s hit was illegal and should have drawn a penalty
that would have negated the touchdown, which put the Steelers ahead 21-0 late in the first
quarter.

“Huber, he’s a punter, and the key is he’s defenseless throughout the down,” NFL vice president
of officiating Dean Blandino said in an appearance on the NFL Network. “Even though he’s pursuing
the play, he still gets defenseless-player protection. You can’t hit him in the head or neck, and
you can’t use the crown or forehead parts of the helmet to the body. This is an illegal block. It
should have been a flag for a 15-yard penalty.”

Garvin was fined $25,000.

Huber said he has watched video of the hit a few times. As a Bengals fan growing up in
Cincinnati, Huber disliked the Steelers. The season-ending injury adds to his feelings.

“It was a hard hit,” he said. “It obviously worked out the way they planned it because they got
a touchdown. It’s hard to get mad at him for making that block, because that’s what he’s coached to
do and he made the right block.

Information from the Associated Press and the Dayton Daily News was used in this story.